Tuesday, September 6
· Headlines – FBI investigation into Trump, Liz Truss appointed U.K. prime minister, Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is review-bombed
o I enjoyed Trevor’s opening blurb reaction to the approval of an Omicron-specific vaccine booster – “I am so excited. ‘Cause this means we can finally fight Omicron just eight months after everyone got it. Yes!”
o This time around, Trevor just called the former president “Donald J. Trump,” but he added that “the ‘J’ stands for ‘January 6th.’”
o Funny bit, about all the empty folders found at Mar-a-Lago marked “classified” – “It’s also possible that the intelligence community didn’t trust Trump with classified information, so they just gave him empty folders. We don’t know. Yeah, it could just be like, ‘Sir, these documents are so secret, we made them invisible.’”
o Loved this – “Basically, the judge is going, Trump, you send us a list of who you think should review the documents and then, like, the Justice Department, you do the same thing. And then I guess the judge is hoping that they’ll overlap? I don’t know. I feel like the Department of Justice is going to submit the names of, like, former attorney generals and FBI directors, and then the list from Trump’s side is going to be like Jared, the Hamburglar, a paper shredder on top of a toilet. You know?”
o At this point, satirizing people who review-bomb a fantasy show for having BIPOC cast members is too easy – “I mean, I can get on board with a show or a world where magical creatures cast spells and fight undead armies for control of a piece of jewelry that can turn them into gods, but if those creatures have a tan, it’s just not believable anymore. It really isn’t.”
o This was a great line – “It’s the same way people were losing their shit because of the one Black guy in House of Dragons. You know, people losing their… ‘Oh, well, it only takes one to lower the property values, you know. The House of Dragon used to be worth $400,000. Now I don’t know anymore!’”
o However, Trevor acknowledged that seeing danger and running toward it was definitely “some white people shit” – “The reason there were no Black people in Middle-Earth is because they saw the giant eye talking out of a volcano and they were like, ‘Oh, hell no. We are moving to Africa, ‘cause this shit here, uh-uh, nope, nope, we do not need to be here. We’re going to Africa where it’s totally safe.”
o Ronny was the headline correspondent, and despite initially claiming indifference to diversity on Lord of the Rings, he asked, “Where the f**k are the Asians?” – “Middle-Earth, Narnia, the West Wing—no Asians? No Asians. The closest thing we have to Asians in American fantasy is Spock in Star Trek, okay? Yeah, he’s Asian. I know he’s white, but he’s Asian. Right? He’s super smart, he dresses like an emperor, he’s got a bowl haircut, and he knows the pressure points in the neck. Right? ‘Live long and prosper’—he even talks like Confucius.”
· Correspondent Piece (Michael) – Small talk
o Kind of a throwaway bit, but mildly amusing, about the lost art of small talk about the pandemic.
o My favorite part was when Michael spoke with a small-talk expert who encouraged him to practice and brush up on his skills – After testing the waters with, “Hi, I’m Michael. What’s your name?”, the expert immediately warned, “You don’t want to sound too sexy, though.”
o I liked the montage of Michael wracking his brain for small-talk topics when his head was full of questions like, “Do you like prison?”, “Did Washington own slaves?”, and “Would you true crime someone?”
· Interview – Talk show host Sherri Shepherd
o Upon sitting down, Shepherd immediately declared how fine Trevor was in person and decided to shoot her shot – “When are we going to Africa together?”
o She was there to talk about her new talk show Sherri – While she lauded other shows that cover news and politics, she said, “My show is joy, fun, and laughter, because we go through so much in our day, I think we get desensitized.”
Wednesday, September 7
· Headlines – Ukraine-Russia fighting is dangerously close to nuclear power plant, new Apple products, Obamas’ portraits unveiled at the White House
o Given climate change, Trevor didn’t think the opening blurb about New York doing away with snow days was going to have that much of an impact – “By 2026, this is basically gonna be Florida with better bagels. That’s all it’s gonna be.”
o Blurb on the US women’s soccer team achieving wage parity with the men’s team – “You see, ladies, all you have to do is be literally the best in the world at something, and someday, you too will get paid the same amount as men who are mediocre at the same job.”
o Loved this reaction to an expert discussing the Ukraine-Russia situation – “I don’t want to be that guy, but I think this is a lot worse than playing with fire, okay? This is a nuclear apocalypse. I wish we were playing with fire. He’s like, ‘We’re playing with fire.’ This guy needs to, like, up the analogy game. We’re talking about the end of human life and he’s like, ‘We’re cruising for a bruising here.’”
o This cracked me up, great delivery – “That’s right, people. The new iPhone and Apple Watch can automatically detect when you’re in a car crash. ‘Cause you know how sometimes you’re in a car crash, but you’re like, ‘Am I in a car crash?’ And the phone is like, ‘Yeah, you’re in a car crash.’”
o On-point intro – “Let’s talk about Barack Obama. You guys remember him? He was a Black guy, good speeches, never stole nuclear secrets from the government.”
o This was a solid point about presidential portraits – “It must be really weird to live in a house with portraits of your enemies. Do you ever think about that?”
· Correspondent Piece (Desi) – New York Fashion Week
o I liked this line – “It’s New York Fashion Week, the semiannual event when designers show their collections to the world so fast fashion brands can decide which styles to rip off.”
o The piece looked at the history of Fashion Week, which included how the U.S. didn’t get a chance to make its mark in the industry until Paris was under Nazi occupation during WWII – “Paris’s defeat turned out to be a win for the American fashion industry. The U.S. seized on the opportunity to fill that gap quicker than a Forever 21 dress falls apart in the laundry.”
· Interview – British Vogue Editor-in-Chief Edward Enninful
o I liked how Trevor summed up Enninful’s position – “You took a role that no Black person had ever had. You took a role that no gay person had ever had. You’ve been the first in so many positions, and it feels like you’ve had to live a life of now making sure that everybody is seen.”
o Enninful explained his ethos thusly – “We live in a world that’s so diverse. You know, I love all kinds of women. I love big women, I love small women, Black women, older women, and for me, women need to see themselves represented in the magazine every month.”
o Trevor asked why Enninful decided to publicly call it out when he was seated behind all of his (white) industry peers at a fashion show – His answer tied back to his past experience being the only Black and/or gay person in the room, saying, “I just figured out, when you’re the one, it’s your responsibility, when those things happen, to just tweet about it, let the world know that it’s not right, it’s not good, it can’t happen—it can’t keep happening.”
o He was all for the growing sustainability movement within the fashion industry – “I’ve always preached: buy better, buy less.”
Thursday, September 8
· Ain’t Nobody Got Time for That – Steve Bannon indicted, leaked Oath Keepers membership list, a Dutch city bans meat ads, Texas judge overrules mandate on employers covering HIV drugs, Queen Elizabeth II dies
o I loved this – “You realize, now there are enough Trump people in jail to start their own prison gang, right? It’s gonna be like, ‘Yo, that’s the Latin Kings. That’s the Aryan Brotherhood. And them over there, that’s the Trump cabinet, man. Those MF’ers are loco. They’re crazy.’”
o In response to his latest indictment, Steve Bannon swore to “never stop fighting,” saying, “They’ll have to kill me first” – “This guy’s acting like a gangster while he’s surrendering to the police. ‘You’ll never take me alive, coppers! Please, put the handcuffs on gently.’”
o Trevor admitted that he wouldn’t have pinned this particular crime, defrauding Trump supporters of millions of dollars, on Bannon – “Millions of dollars? He looks like he sublets from Oscar the Grouch. I wouldn’t have suspected him of having the money.”
o Trevor was concerned that hundreds of politicians, police officers, and active-duty military are in the Oath Keepers – “I don’t want a cop to beat me up because he’s part of some racism organization telling him to do it. I want him to beat me up because he’s racist for the love of the game, you know? Do it for yourself.”
o These was a great bit, about the proliferation of hate groups – “I actually feel bad for extremists. You know? ‘Cause they’ve got to join all of these different groups, like they’re subscribing to different streaming services. I wonder if they share accounts. You know? Like, ‘Can I jump on your account for the KKK+? I can’t afford all these hate groups right now.’”
o This made me laugh out loud – “This is a big move because, you know, meat advertisements have been around since the beginning of time. That’s basically what the cave drawings were, right? It was like, ‘Yo, if you see this, eat it. Trust me.’”
o The “religious exemption” reasoning for employers was that covering HIV drugs could “encourage homosexual behavior” – “By that logic, where do you draw the line, huh? Employers can say that any medical coverage makes gay sex more likely. Eye exams. ‘Oh, so you want to see more men to have gay sex with, huh?’ Everything—physical therapy. ‘Oh, so you’ll have the stamina for more gay sex?’ Dental insurance. ‘Oh, so you’ll have a nice smile that’ll make me want to have gay sex with you? Nice try, Gary, nice try!’”
o Super valid – “You know this is the kind of religious exemption that only evangelical Christians get to claim. They’ll be like, ‘Oh, we’re Christians so we can discriminate.’ Let’s see what happens the first time a Muslim employer says, ‘I’m not going to pay my workers. What if they use the money to buy bacon?’ I can tell you right now, no Texas judge is gonna be like, ‘Well, who am I to question the teachings of Allah? Who am I?’”
o Trevor recognized the complicated feelings around Elizabeth II’s death but was also impressed at the sheer longevity of her reign – “She came to power in 1952. Do you understand how long that is? That means she’s seen Adam West as Batman, Michael Keaton as Batman, Christian Bale as Batman, Ben Affleck as Batman, survived that, and then saw Robert Pattinson as Batman. And look, I’m sure there’s a better way to measure time than in Batmen, but you get it. She’s been in the game for a minute.”
o Trevor pointed out that Elizabeth was a literal queen – “These days, that term gets thrown around way too much. Yeah, you just post a photo of your smoothie online, and everyone’s like, ‘Yeah, self-care, Queen.’ No, that doesn’t make you a queen. You’re a duchess of self-care, at best.”
o I loved this bit, about Prince Charles finally becoming king – “The world wasn’t made for an old prince. I can tell you now, there’s no one in a Disney movie who’s like, ‘Someday, my prince will come, and he’ll wear orthopedic shoes, and eat cottage cheese for every meal.’”
· Correspondent Piece (Desi) – FOXsplaining the Mar-a-Lago raid
o Good line from Trevor’s intro – “It just came out that one of the documents in Trump’s possession had secret information about a foreign country’s nuclear defense capabilities. Yeah. So now America needs to send out letters to every country in the world, like those ones you get from your credit card company. You know? It’s like, ‘So, there was a data breach, and you’re probably gonna want to change your nuclear codes.’”
o The usual for this bit, but it was fun – “On the scale of 1 to the most innocent man who’s ever lived, how innocent is Donald Trump?”
o I laughed at the graphic of AG Merrick Garland shooting lasers out of his eyes.
o Amid the various “justifications” for Trump having the classified documents, including “executive privilege” and “attorney-client privilege,” was simply, “uh, the Kavanaugh hearings?”
· Interview – Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh
o While unemployment has reduced drastically since 2020, Trevor recognized that that’s not the only issue in the U.S. labor market – “Many people have jobs, but not everyone can earn a living from the jobs they have.”
o Walsh stated his primary goal at the Department of Labor – “At the end of the day, it’s about keeping people working. That’s what moves our economy, more money into the economy.”
o This was an interesting observation from Trevor, about America’s tendency to go all in on protecting certain jobs, like coal mining or rail working – “Now the job is almost entrenched, when in fact the person is the thing you’re trying to protect. How do you find that balance? Are you trying to protect the job or the person?”
o Walsh hoped to model the U.S. approach to labor more after countries like Sweden and Denmark, especially in their emphasis on apprenticeships over on-the-job training – “Having these apprenticeships and changing that mindset so we’re catching young people earlier, too, kids that don’t go to college. When they graduate high school and don’t go to college, they might get a job at a fast-food restaurant or someplace like that. No, we need to get those folks, those young people into apprenticeships to get into good-paying jobs moving forward.”
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